Matthew 15
15
1Then some Pharisees and religious teachers from Jerusalem came to Jesus and asked him, 2“Why do your disciples break the tradition of our forefathers by not washing their hands before they eat a meal?”
3“Why do you break God's commandment because of your tradition?” Jesus replied. 4“For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’#15:4. Quoting Exodus 20:12 or Deuteronomy 5:16. and ‘Those who curse their father or mother should be put to death.’#15:4. Quoting Exodus 21:17 or Leviticus 20:9. 5But you say that if someone tells their father or mother, ‘Whatever you might have expected to get from me is now a gift to God,’ then 6they don't have to honor their father. In this way you've annulled God's word for the sake of your tradition. 7You hypocrites! How well Isaiah described you when he prophesied: 8‘These people say they honor me but in their minds they don't care about me.#15:8. Or “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are a long way from me.” 9Their worship of me is pointless. What they teach are just man-made requirements.’”#15:9. Quoting Isaiah 29:13.
10He called the crowd over and told them, “Listen, and understand this: 11it's not what goes into you through your mouth that defiles you. It's what comes out of your mouth that defiles you.”
12Then Jesus' disciples came to him and said, “You do realize that the Pharisees were offended by what you said.”
13“Every plant my heavenly Father didn't plant will be uprooted,” Jesus replied. 14“Forget about them—they are blind guides.#15:14. Referring to the Pharisees. If a blind man leads another blind man, then they'll both fall into a ditch.”
15Then Peter asked, “Please tell us what you mean by this illustration.”#15:15. Referring to what Jesus said in verse 11.
16“Haven't you understood this yet?” replied Jesus. 17“Don't you see that whatever goes in through the mouth then passes through the stomach, and then leaves the body as waste?#15:17. Literally, “discharged into the sewer.” 18But what comes out through the mouth comes from the mind, and that's what defiles you. 19For what comes from the mind are evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and blasphemy 20and those are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands doesn't defile you.”
21Jesus left and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22A Canaanite woman from that area came, shouting out, “Lord, son of David! Please have mercy on me, because my daughter is suffering badly because she's possessed by a demon!” 23But Jesus didn't reply at all. His disciples came to him and told him, “Tell her to stop following us. All her shouting is really annoying!”
24“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” Jesus said to the woman. 25But the woman came and kneeled before him, and said, “Lord, please help me!”
26“It's not right to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs,#15:26. The word used for dogs indicates pet dogs, or puppies.” Jesus told her.
27“Yes, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat crumbs that fall from their master's table,” she replied.
28“You have great trust in me,” Jesus answered. “Your wish is granted!” And her daughter was healed immediately.
29Jesus returned, passing by the Sea of Galilee. He went into the mountains nearby where he sat down. 30Huge crowds came to him, bringing those who were lame, blind, crippled, dumb, and many others who were sick. They laid them on the ground at his feet, and he healed them. 31The crowd was astounded at what they saw happen: the deaf could speak, the crippled were healed, the lame could walk, and the blind could see. They praised the God of Israel.
32Jesus called his disciples over and told them, “I feel really sorry for all these people, because they've been with me now for three days, and they have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry, in case they faint on their way home.”
33“Where could we find enough bread here in this desert to feed such a huge crowd?” the disciples responded.
34“How many loaves of bread do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven, and a few small fish,” they replied.
35Jesus told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36He took the seven loaves and the fish, and after blessing the food he broke it into pieces and gave it to the disciples, and the disciples gave it to the crowds. 37Everybody ate until they were full, and then they collected the leftovers, filling seven baskets. 38Four thousand men ate the food, not counting women and children. 39Then he sent the crowds away, got into a boat, and went to the Magadan region.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Matthew 15
15
Obey God’s Law
1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem. They asked him, 2“Why don’t your followers obey the unwritten laws which have been handed down to us? They don’t wash their hands before they eat.”
3Jesus answered, “And why do you refuse to obey God’s command so that you can follow your own teachings? 4God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Anyone who says cruel things to his father or mother must be put to death.’ 5But you say a person can tell his father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you, but I have given it to God already.’ 6You teach that person not to honor his father or his mother. You rejected what God said for the sake of your own rules. 7You are hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he said about you:
8‘These people show honor to me with words,
but their hearts are far from me.
9Their worship of me is worthless.
The things they teach are nothing but human rules.’ ”#Isaiah 29:13
10After Jesus called the crowd to him, he said, “Listen and understand what I am saying. 11It is not what people put into their mouths that makes them unclean. It is what comes out of their mouths that makes them unclean.”
12Then his followers came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees are angry because of what you said?”
13Jesus answered, “Every plant that my Father in heaven has not planted himself will be pulled up by the roots. 14Stay away from the Pharisees; they are blind leaders. And if a blind person leads a blind person, both will fall into a ditch.”
15Peter said, “Explain the example to us.”
16Jesus said, “Do you still not understand? 17Surely you know that all the food that enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then goes out of the body. 18But what people say with their mouths comes from the way they think; these are the things that make people unclean. 19Out of the mind come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual sins, stealing, lying, and speaking evil of others. 20These things make people unclean; eating with unwashed hands does not make them unclean.”
Jesus Helps a Non-Jewish Woman
21Jesus left that place and went to the area of Tyre and Sidon. 22A Canaanite woman from that area came to Jesus and cried out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter has a demon, and she is suffering very much.”
23But Jesus did not answer the woman. So his followers came to Jesus and begged him, “Tell the woman to go away. She is following us and shouting.”
24Jesus answered, “God sent me only to the lost sheep, the people of Israel.”
25Then the woman came to Jesus again and bowed before him and said, “Lord, help me!”
26Jesus answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs.”
27The woman said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
28Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! I will do what you asked.” And at that moment the woman’s daughter was healed.
Jesus Heals Many People
29After leaving there, Jesus went along the shore of Lake Galilee. He went up on a hill and sat there.
30Great crowds came to Jesus, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, those who could not speak, and many others. They put them at Jesus’ feet, and he healed them. 31The crowd was amazed when they saw that people who could not speak before were now able to speak. The crippled were made strong. The lame could walk, and the blind could see. And they praised the God of Israel for this.
More than Four Thousand Fed
32Jesus called his followers to him and said, “I feel sorry for these people, because they have already been with me three days, and they have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry. They might faint while going home.”
33His followers asked him, “How can we get enough bread to feed all these people? We are far away from any town.”
34Jesus asked, “How many loaves of bread do you have?”
They answered, “Seven, and a few small fish.”
35Jesus told the people to sit on the ground. 36He took the seven loaves of bread and the fish and gave thanks to God. Then he divided the food and gave it to his followers, and they gave it to the people. 37All the people ate and were satisfied. Then his followers filled seven baskets with the leftover pieces of food. 38There were about four thousand men there who ate, besides women and children. 39After sending the people home, Jesus got into the boat and went to the area of Magadan.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.